Lost Valley Visitor Center, overlooking the Nippersink Creek valley in Richmond, Ill., is one of McHenry County’s most wellknown conservation areas and serves as the gateway for a day’s adventure in natural history. Encompassing 3,200 acres, Glacial Park is McHenry County’s most well-known conservation area and is visited annually by more than 64,000 individuals. The facility hosts many environmental education programs, workshops and camps, and is a regional center for the district’s study of its natural resources. When the Center’s director needed a new exhibit hall and dining hall, she called on Williams Architects and Armstrong to design flooring that would be both naturally beautiful and highly durable. Utilizing Armstrong’s PREMIUM Commercial Laminate and PREMIUM LUSTRE Commercial Laminate, this partnership was able to create a beautiful and resilient result.

Outdoor Voyage Brought Indoors

“The Lost Valley Visitor Center is a place where people can begin their outdoor journeys from the inside,” said McHenry County Conservation District Executive Director Elizabeth S. Kessler.

In 2009, McHenry County Conservation District began an extensive renovation of an existing 28,450 square foot facility in Glacial Park to create a new Visitor Center. “Because this is an environmental and natural resource learning facility, we were focused on designing a building that showcased high-performing, sustainable construction and design,” said Kessler. “We chose products, like Armstrong Commercial Laminate flooring, which would contribute to our goal of LEED® certification.”

Designer Carrie Kotera, with Williams Architects located in Itasca, Ill., selected laminate products from Armstrong’s PREMIUM COMMERCIAL LAMINATE and PREMIUM LUSTRE COMMERCIAL LAMINATE for two spaces: the exhibit hall and dining hall. “These rooms presented unique challenges because of the constant rotation of exhibits and rearranging of furniture,” said Kotera. “We needed flooring that could withstand the constant change, be easy to maintain and resist scratching and denting. We needed flooring with durability.” Armstrong’s Commercial portfolio offers a complete line of durable floor products from linoleum to hardwood, including laminate, offers a durable wear layer. Armstrong’s technologies make laminate more resistant to stains, fading, scuffs and scratches.

Natural Wood Look, Easy Maintenance

Armstrong also offered Kotera the aesthetic look she was seeking, thanks to a patented technology that creates laminate with rich depth of color and texture of hardwood. “Armstrong gave us the ‘wood look’ we were after along with durability and ease of maintenance,” said Kotera.

The installation of the new dining and exhibit halls at the Lost Valley Visitor Center was completed in 2010. The collaboration between Armstrong, Williams Architects and McHenry County created a natural learning facility to welcome visitors for years to come. Armstrong is the industry’s commercial flooring leader offering a broad selection of flooring products with variety of colors, patterns and sustainable attributes suitable for any educational facility. With over 150 years in counting, Armstrong is the leading source for commercial spaces of all kinds. Let Armstrong make your job a little easier by being your one-stop-shop for all your flooring needs.